Monday's Bank Stocks: Banks, broader markets move higher to open week

Bank and thrift stocksrose during trading Monday, Oct. 10, as broader markets opened higher and heldon to gains during the session.

The SNL U.S. Bank Indexadded 0.64% to 426.53, and the SNL U.S. Thrift Index climbed 0.54% to 829.46.

"As people dugfurther into the numbers they saw that there were some positives in the report—particularlythe increase in workers entering the workforce and some good wages data—andthat much of the initial response to the headline number on Friday was probablya bit of an overreaction," Doug Sandler, the chief U.S. equity officer forRiverFront Investment Group, said.

He added that while U.S.equity markets are priced fairly at their current levels, some investors may bebecoming more optimistic about the potential for higher growth abroad. Moresigns of increasing growth globally could help domestic markets "climb thewall of worry" and move to higher levels during the balance of the year,Sandler said.

The Dow Jones IndustrialAverage rose 0.49% to 18,329.04 on the day; the S&P 500 advanced 0.46% to2,163.66; and the Nasdaq composite index gained 0.69% to 5,328.67.

The sector'sbiggest names had mostly traded higher by the close of the session, asBank of America Corp.added 1.05% to $16.30, JPMorganChase & Co. gained 0.78% to $68.64 and shares rose 0.55% to$49.55

was up 0.71% to$45.65 as the fallout from its fraudulent accounts scandal continued to pileup.A shareholder group filed aresolution demanding the bank compile a report examining the of the scandal, as well as areview of the ways in which the company has improved its controls after itdiscovered the widespread practices within its bank.

In other bank industrynews, United Security BancsharesInc. announced that it is changing its corporate to First US Bancshares. The companysaid it will begin trading under a new ticker, FUSB, effective Oct. 11.

Among thrifts,New York Community BancorpInc. shares closed at $14.07, up 0.43%, and added 0.56%to $18.00.

Market prices and index values are current as of the time of publicationand are subject to change.